Seven thousand yellow rubber
ducks floated across the Alamance
County Community YMCA pool
during the seventh annual Rubber
Duck Dash for the Cash Sept. 20. The
Rubber Duck Dash raises money for
the Alamance County Meals on
Wheels program.
Four hundred elderly citizens rely
on Meals on Wheels in order to eat
and receive the proper nutrition.
Anne Baker, executive director of
Alamance County Meals on Wheels,
said the program expects to serve
100,000 meals in one year in
Alamance County alone.
While the majority of the money
from the event purchases food for
these individuals, the participants
have a chance to earn some glory as
well. The winning duck receives a
cash prize of $2,500. Close-following
ducks, 12 randomly selected ducks
and the last duck the volunteers
scoop out of the pool also receive
various cash prizes.
"Participants buy chances, or
adopt a duck for $5," Baker said.
"Basically, when you buy a duck for
$5, you are buying a meal for a
person."
Lee Isley planned the event with
Baker. As the duck chairman, Isley

Volunteers dump 7,000 rubber ducks
into the Alamance County Community
YMCA pool. One duck was worth a
$2,500 cash prize.

BY MELISSA KANSKY

said he believes his most important
responsibility is to motivate.
"(It is) probably the best thing
to motivate our board into selling
ducks," Isley said.
His efforts proved successful.
Even during the struggling
economy, this year's Rubber Duck
Dash earned more money than any
previous race. Baker has not
counted the money yet, but knows
the event raised at least $30,000.
Isley credits Baker, the staff
and all of the board members for
the event's success.

Each duck was sold to a participant for
$5. This buys one meal for the Meals on
Wheels program.

Twenty to 25 volunteers
assisted in the event as well. Some
volunteers emptied the buckets of
ducks into the pool while others
hosed the ducks, pushing them
toward the finish line.
Volunteer Resi Forrest poured
one bucket of ducks into the YMCA
pool. She said she believes her job
was easy. She "just dump(ed) and
let them go," Forrest said jokingly.
Although the actual race lasted
a mere 10 minutes, the beginning
process did not come about as
quickly.

A volunteer wades through the pool to
pick 12 prize-winning rubber ducks.

‘Rubber ducky, you’re the one’
cont.

Baker has "been talking about ducks for about 10
years," she said.
Before the first Duck Dash seven years ago, Baker had
been discussing the possibility of a Rubber Duck Race for
three years.
After three years of talk, the duck team took action.
"Once we did it, we stuck by and it has been a
wonderful event for us and a wonderful event for the
community ever since," Baker said.
Even though the event aims to help the elderly, the
presence of children showed the race engages all ages.
Phillip Brown and Kent Byrd, two young Boy Scouts,
held the responsibility of fishing the rubber ducks out of
the pool once the race had ended.
Brown did not adopt any ducks, but thought his job
was "pretty cool and pretty fun."
Byrd purchased three chances.
"I sponsored three of them, but I really have no idea
out of the 7,000 which ones are mine," she said.
After the first few ducks crossed the finished line,
the Rubber Duck Dash for the Cash staff fed the number
written on the duck into the computer in order to find
the winning participant.
Video is available at http://www.elon.edu/pendulum/Story.aspx?
id=2553V. Video is by Melissa Kansky and Ashley Barnas